Angela McDevitt, 17, is being credited with thwarting a possible mass school shooting. She alerted authorities about text messages from a friend, Jack Sawyer, who had expressed a desire to conduct a shooting at his old high school in Vermont.
Seth Harrison/Poughkeepsie Journal

Arlington High School students speak during a walkout on Wednesday.(Photo: Jamie DeCoster)

The incident, in which eight students and two teachers were killed, left the Arlington High School junior feeling like “this can happen anywhere,” she said, and was a tipping point for herself and fellow students.

“We decided we wanted to do something to advocate for gun control and that innocent people just can’t keep dying,” said McDevitt, who in February was credited with averting a possible shooting in Vermont. “There’s a fear for us (students).”

The students have planned a gun violence awareness event for Sunday in the City of Poughkeepsie called Hudson Valley Stands Up.

A rally in Mural Square Park is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a letter-writing session from noon to 2 p.m. at North River Roasters in the Underwear Factory, according to another one of the student organizers, junior Sabrina Goldfischer. They plan to address the letters calling for gun law reform to local politicians.

Arlington students will be involved with the event, along with students from Spackenkill High School and Poughkeepsie Day School, according to organizers, who are also reaching out to other local high schools.

Representatives from organizations including Moms Demand Action and New Yorkers Against Gun Violence will also be at the event.

“As students, we’re so frustrated by our legislators and we’re so tired of inaction and not seeing anything happen,” Goldfischer said. “So, we decided to take matters into our hands. We’re inspired by the Parkland kids — this is about students trying to take the power, make a change."

On Feb. 14, 17 people were killed in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The incident led to McDevitt bringing her conversation with Vermont teen Jack Sawyer, in which he allegedly discussed a plot for a shooting at Fair Haven Union High School in Vermont, to the attention of authorities.

Angela McDevitt, 17, a student at Arlington High School, is being credited with thwarting a possible mass school shooting. McDevitt, photographed Feb. 20, 2018, received text messages from Jack Sawyer, who she had met while both were residents in a Maine treatment center for youths with emotional problems. The text messages she received from Sawyer described his desire to conduct a mass shooting at his old high school in Vermont. McDevitt brought the texts to the attention of authorities, and Sawyer was arrested before he could carry out a shooting. (Photo: Seth Harrison/The Poughkeepsie J)

Sawyer was arrested, but the four felony charges he faced regarding the possible shooting have since been dropped; he faces two misdemeanor charges of criminal threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon "with the avowed purpose of injuring another," and was released on bail.

Goldfischer, who organized Arlington's participation in the National School Walkout on March 14, and McDevitt, whose story circulated around the school, had wanted to meet each other, but didn’t have the chance until McDevitt attended Goldfischer’s after-school political forum club.

“I was just so inspired by her story,” she said. “Angela is an absolute hero and we’re proud of what she did and her bravery is so inspiring. She really could’ve saved so many lives.”

Hundreds of Arlington High Schools students participate in the National School Walkout on Wednesday.(Photo: Jamie DeCoster)

McDevitt said she’s felt “more cautious” and aware of her surroundings since Sawyer was released. A condition of his release was that he could not contact her.

The two first met at Ironwood Maine, a residential treatment center and private school about 20 miles northwest of Camden, Maine. Sawyer was treated for Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder and depression. McDevitt said she had been diagnosed with depression and Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

McDevitt said she believes Sawyer has been seeking help and “I think it’s great.”
She said she wants to continue to be a visible advocate for stricter gun laws, and not wait around for an incident to occur.

“Kids in the shootings who have survived have a voice and what I’m trying to do with my friends,” she said, “is try to advocate and be outspoken before we have a personal experience.”